


Hiding

by suluismyspirit



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alpha McCoy, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, I swear Idon't ship them, Light Angst, Minor Violence, Omega Sulu, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:43:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9644903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suluismyspirit/pseuds/suluismyspirit
Summary: Omega’s were the ones best at raising family, teaching the younger generation, bearing kids, and just generally taking care of the domestic side of life. Alpha’s were the dominant, protective, fierce type that provided for the family, the pack. Beta’s held it all together, making up the majority of the population, providing neutral ground for the other two dynamics. It was an archaic frame of mind that had lasted for centuries. Even the Vulcan’s, ancient race that they were, still followed that basic mindset.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I make no promises to how long this story will last.

Hikaru Sulu learned at an early age not to trust Alphas. His parents were both Beta’s, as was most of the population. Hikaru remembered reading a study once that had said something like one in every fifty people someone presented as Alpha. For an Omega, like himself, it was nearer one in every two hundred.

At least, those were the odds when he’d researched it once he’d presented. It meant he was a rarity, and would likely always stand out, but not in a good way. Back in the dark ages, the old days before the federation and equal rights, Omega’s had been little more than property. There had been laws in place barring them from the most basic of human rights. They couldn’t hold jobs, they couldn’t live on their own, they couldn’t do most anything without an Alpha.

While those laws had long since been repealed, Omega’s still very rarely did anything in the public eye. Or if they did, no one knew they were Omega. Because while there were no laws that barred Omega’s from doing things, there were none that protected them either. Omega’s weren’t really property, but most Alpha’s, and a great many Beta’s, saw the value in them. For an Alpha, the desire was a simple as their scent. It was in their nature to want to make an Omega theirs. For a Beta, the value lay in the rarity. Many people would pay a lot of money to say they had an Omega in their collection.

Omega’s were the ones best at raising family, teaching the younger generation, bearing kids, and just generally taking care of the domestic side of life. Alpha’s were the dominant, protective, fierce type that provided for the family, the pack. Beta’s held it all together, making up the majority of the population, providing neutral ground for the other two dynamics. It was an archaic frame of mind that had lasted for centuries. Even the Vulcan’s, ancient race that they were, still followed that basic mindset.  
Hikaru’d made sure he had all the information he could get his hands on when he’d presented. He needed to know how to deal with this, because he had no interest in staying somewhere his whole life and raising a nice little family. He’d dreamed of flying through the stars, joining Starfleet and going on adventures. And damn it, that was exactly what he was going to do.

It was far easier said than done.

His parents supported him, of course, but as they were both Beta’s they didn’t quite understand. School changed overnight for Hikaru. The Beta’s didn’t treat him any different, they didn’t even notice the change. But Hikaru was so _very_ aware of the few Alphas. And they were aware of him.

Joining Starfleet Academy was no easy feat either. He was questioned on all sides as to whether an omega would be able to handle the rigors of space. And the alpha’s there were so much more aggressive, demanding of his submission, than the one’s in high school.

It was a trick, learning how to appease them yet reject their overtures without damaging their Alpha pride. Many times, it failed and he walked away with his fair share of bruises, and only that if he were lucky. He was over halfway through the academy before he discovered a way to hide his Omega scent, hide from the Alphas. It wasn’t illegal, not really, but it was generally frowned upon. So he purchased a neutralizing spray. It kept the Alpha’s from noticing him, from seeing him as Omega to be dominated. Instead he was just another Beta in the crowd. In turn, Hikaru was less submissive, silencing that ever present Omega desire to please, than he usually would have been. He wasn’t sure what to think of this side effect. It changed who he was, in a sense, but it was kind of a blessing if he were honest. So he shrugged it off, focusing on his courses at the Academy and graduating near top of his class.

He’d met Ben not long after he’d graduated, on leave during his first posting. It took Sulu longer than he cared to admit before he trusted Ben enough to tell him what he was. The man had been more than understanding when Hikaru had explained, and it make Sulu love him more.

After they were married, and even before that, Ben was Hikaru’s lifeline while he was away on longer missions. He wrote to him, kept himself grounded when he was in deep space so long he feared the spray he used would run out. And unfortunately, this was one of those missions.

Hikaru was off duty currently, and had volunteered to help some of the botanist’s in researching some of the strange plants that the science team had acquired. He’d always had an interest in plants, it was a hobby of his still, and the scientists welcomed the help. Sulu was simply glad of anything to keep his mind off how long they still had out here before heading back to a base or planet to resupply. And that was if they _didn’t_ received any emergency call.

The plant’s they’d brought aboard had a bit more sentience than most, which had of course just fascinated the scientist. One of them was a large ugly green, looking almost like a venus flytrap with eyes and fangs. It was moving slowly, giggling in an odd fashion. Sulu’s gaze slid over to it, frowning slightly. It’s vines were moving, the fanged mouth opening slowly, as if it were hungry. The vines were shifting it slowly toward the edge of the counter it was sitting on. Sulu moved over to the plant and attempted to get the thing under control. It was moving quicker now, and he reached it just in time to push the thing back from the edge.

The plant waved is leaf, opening it’s mouth wider and letting out a distorted whining noise. The vines moved fast, wrapping around one of Sulu’s arms quickly, thorns digging into his flesh. Sulu cursed, wincing at the sharp pain, one hand blocking the thing from grabbing him with it’s mouth.

One of the scientist rushed over to assist, snatching up a vial of chemical spray. He sprayed the plant, the thing hissing angrily and drawing back somewhat. The scientist tried to get a good hold of the plant, giving Sulu some room to extract his arm from the vines. “Hope you’ve had your shots.” He commented.

Sulu’s brow furrowed, nervously looking down at the nasty scratches on his arm. They were deep and it was bleeding, but he knew the thing hadn’t hit any artery’s. Lucky him.

“Go got that checked, mate.” The scientist advised, giving the angry plant one last spray before stepping back. “We can handle thing from here, thanks for helping out.”

Sulu forced a chuckle. “Yeah, sure. This’ll teach me to volunteer my help.”

The scientist laughed, not catching on to Hikaru’s mood, shaking his head some. “Yeah yeah, no good dead and all that. Go on then.” He waved him off, turning to go back to his station.

The throbbing in his arm prompted Hikaru to move, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get out of going to sickbay this time. If no other reason than the scientist would ask him about it later, and probably would have it in his report. Sulu sighed, reluctantly making his way to sickbay.

Generally, for something like this, he wouldn’t be quite so against it. The only problem was the enterprise’s CMO was an Alpha. It had been years since Sulu had last been around an Alpha. In fact, the last time he’d ever encountered an Alpha had been at the academy. And would you know it, there were _two_ of them on this ship that he knew of. The Captain, Jim Kirk, he’d had little interaction with aside from seeing him on the bridge during his shift, and Leonard McCoy, who was the Chief Medic.

Hikaru entered sickbay, looking around for the doctor. He’d been in here before, of course, but that was usually for something minor. And most of the time the nurses had taken care of it with barely a few words coming from McCoy himself. Sulu knew the man only saw him as just another Beta, and he shouldn’t take the man’s gruff attitude as some attempt to dominate, but it was difficult sometimes.

McCoy looked up reflexively as the door to sickbay opened, eyes narrowing slightly as he recognized the man that came in. He frowned, eyes scanning the pilot as he evaluated him for a second. It didn’t take long for him to notice that this wasn’t the typical electric burns that he usually had to deal with. “What the hell did you do?!” He growled, immediately making his way over to inspect the man’s bleeding arm more closely.

Sulu walked slowly forward to meet McCoy further in the medbady. He shifted a bit under McCoy’s scrutiny, looking slightly guilty. “Well, I was helping out researching some of the plant species we picked up last week… and it got a little too friendly?”

The doctor carefully took Sulu’s arm, raising a brow as he looked at it. He cast a glance at a nurse, waving her over. “Help me get this clean up.” He turned his attention to Sulu after that, frowning. “I’m gonna take a look at your file.”

“I’m not allergic to anything.” Hikaru replied automatically.

“Yeah, well, I’ll see if you are or not.” McCoy said absently. He had a feeling the pilot was missing a few hypos. At least he didn’t remember seeing the guy in here for any, and McCoy was pretty good at remembering what when on medically with the bridge crew.

He let the nurse take over, making his way over to the desk and picking up a PADD, scrolling through it.

Sulu watched him, paying little attention to the nurse as she cleared the blood from his arm, attending to the wounds. “Think I’d know if I were….” He muttered, not quite subtly.

McCoy made no indication he’d heard, pulling a face as he read the report on the PADD. “How the hell did you get aboard without having all you proper vaccinations?!”

Sulu gave a slight shrug, as well as he was able with the nurse holding one arm. “Uh…mix up from my last post?” He offered, keeping his tone neutral. It wasn’t exactly a lie. His transfer to the Enterprise had been fairly last minute. He’d been offered the post and he jumped on it, no questions asked. The Enterprise was the most advanced ship in the fleet! He wasn’t going to pass up the chance to fly her. So yes, his medical file did have a few holes vaccination wise, but he’d been meaning to take care of it. Just it was hard to do that with the CMO being who he was. Sulu was reluctant to be in the man’s presence any more than he had too, and that included getting the necessary vaccinations.

He glanced up at the nurse, noting she was just as surprised as McCoy. Okay, so maybe it was a bigger deal than he’d thought. He turned his gaze to the doctor, watching to see how the Alpha would react to this explanation. Likely not well was Sulu’s guess.

“Some mix-up, _alright_.” McCoy griped, walking over to Sulu with folded arms. “Looks like you’re gonna have to stay here, under my watch, for a while.”

Sulu had to remind himself not to react to that. It wasn’t an Alpha telling an Omega he was his, it was just a doctor watching over a patient. Still, he did _not_ want to be watched, especially by an Alpha. “…come on, doc. Can’t be all that bad?” He asked with a slight hopeful tone. He knew it was, doctors didn’t usually exaggerate stuff like this. He cast a sneaky glance to the doors leading to the corridor, wistful of just getting the heck outta here.

McCoy scoffed, eyes narrowing slightly as he noticed the look. “You’ve already fanned the flames, Mister Sulu, by not gettin’ your shots. If I were you, I wouldn’t even think ‘bout going anywhere any time soon.”

Hikaru ducked his head slightly. McCoy couldn’t have made it any clearer that he’d been caught plotting his escape. “…alright, yeah.” He said, sighing lightly. This was not his idea of a good time. He knew the spray would last for a good day or so before he needed to reapply it, but it was still nerve wracking, being so close to an Alpha. “Can I at least go get a change of clothes from my quarters?” He asked a moment later. Sure the spray would last, but Sulu’d feel better having a new layer just in case.

“There’s no need for that. We have clothes here.” McCoy replied dismissively. He could easily see Sulu had a whole bag of tricks and had no intention of letting the pilot wander off and ‘forget’ to return.

“Can’t I just get the vac’s and leave?” Sulu asked, giving it one last shot to wriggle out of having to stay here for the next however long McCoy decided.

“Who’s the doctor here?” McCoy shot a look at Sulu.

“Alright, you win.” Sulu grumbled, huffing lightly.

McCoy prepared the first of the hypo injection, walking back over to Sulu, the man eyeing McCoy and the hypo. Hikaru hated being in sickbay. It was worse because McCoy was an Alpha, this was his territory and it made Sulu nervous just being in the room.

“Sit still.” McCoy ordered, stepping up to Sulu and injecting him.

“Thanks…” Sulu said sassily once McCoy’d finished and stepped back. “Just how long you plan on making me stay here?” He was just itching to get up and move, he was nervous and it grated against his instincts to sit still.

“Long enough for any calmatives you may have to fileter out of your system before I give you a dosage of vertazine. If you didn’t have a headache before you’ll sure get one now.”

Sulu blinked at that explaination. “After hearing that, yeah, I got a headache…” He grumbled sarcastically. He stood up, beginning to move away, just wanting to move. Instantly, McCoy reached out and grabbed him by the arm, causing him to stop. He paused, freezing briefly before looking at McCoy. “…what? I’m not allowed to move now?” He asked, covering his nerves with sarcasm.

McCoy let out a low growl, not trusting Sulu for a moment. “Not unless you wanna be brought back here for some mindless injury because you were _stupid_ enough to not listen to your doctor and keep seated!”

Sulu tensed slightly at the growled warning, eyeing McCoy warily as he slowly sat back down. He wasn’t sure if it was the stress, nerves, or whatever it was that McCoy had given him, but he was certainly feeling that headache now. “You expect me to just stare at a wall or something?”

McCoy dropped his hand from Sulu’s arm, ignoring the pilots attitude for now. “What’s the last medication you took?”

“I don’t get sick often.” Sulu replied carefully, shrugging a bit. “So it’s been a while since a doctor’s given me any.” He wasn’t entirely sure the spray counted as a drug, and he certainly wasn’t going to bring it up. Last thing he needed was this Alpha to _really_ get dominant.

“Shouldn’t take too long for everythin’ to get out of your system, then.”

“Yeah…great.” Sulu commented, halfhearted. He reached up, rubbing his forehead. “Found that headache…”

McCoy frowned, watching him. “Hey! Try not to rub it _too_ much.”

Sulu glanced up at McCoy with a thin glare, the stress and nerves on top of the headache making him irritable. The tension didn’t help either. “You got anything for it? That would help…”

“I’d suggest you lie down on this bed for now.”

Sulu would really, _really_ , rather not. He didn’t like the idea of being so vulnerable with an Alpha so near. He scooted back some on the bed, getting more comfortable though he didn’t lay down. He frowned slightly, a little off balance at that thought. He didn’t usually worry about things like that, he knew the spray kept them thinking he was Beta. “You don’t have to stand here and watch me…” He sure as hell hoped not anyway.

Much to Sulu’s relief, McCoy scoffed at that, shaking his head once. “No, I’ll leave it to the nurse.” With that he walked away to attend to his duties. True to his word, he left the nurse to look over Sulu. She glanced his way every now and then as she tried to deal with other patients.

Now that he wasn’t being hovered over, laying down actually sounded like a pretty good idea. He was feeling even more off balance, and the headache was still pounding away inside his skull. So he lay back, staring at the ceiling in boredom.

Being left with his thoughts didn’t exactly lend itself to a relaxing stay. He must have drifted off at some point, because before he realized it he was opening his eyes to a mostly abandoned sickbay and McCoy walking toward him.

“So, Mister Sulu, how are you feeling?”

Hikaru sat up, eyes drifting across the empty room before landing back on McCoy. “Peachy.” He replied shortly. He hastened to elaborate some at McCoy’s raised eyebrow. “Headache’s still there, just not as bad.” He was still feeling odd, not like he was sick but just… off.

McCoy’s brow furrowed, picking up on Sulu’s scent as he drew closer. Shocked, which was saying something for a doctor, he came to a stop. “…Peachy you say?” He repeated, frowning and hurrying over to check the PADD with Sulu’s file.

Sulu tilted his head slightly at McCoy’s action. Guessing that it was probably okay for him to stand now, he got up and stretched. “Yeah, so I can go now, right?”

McCoy didn’t react to him, too intent on scanning through the files. It wasn’t there. McCoy couldn’t find any confidential trace of identification, that _sneaky bastard_! “No, not yet.” He tossed out the reply to Sulu’s question automatically as he continued to search, puzzled and unimpressed. Dammit.

Hikaru frowned at McCoy’s nonreaction. Usually that kinda quip would have him saying something besides a simple ‘no’. He watched McCoy curiously, having no idea what the doctor was so intent over.

Bones frowned, turning around to face Sulu and wondering just how he hadn’t picked up on it before. “Do you use spray, Mister Sulu?” He asked, direct and to the point.


	2. Chapter 2

Sulu froze at that, keeping his expression carefully blank. “What?”

“I’m asking if you use spray ‘cause I hadn’t picked up on your scent until now.” McCoy stated.

Hikaru honestly had no idea what to say to that, the directness putting him even more off balance. As if that weren't enough, he couldn’t get a read on McCoy to know what he might be thinking, what he might do with this information. He shifted nervously, reluctant to answer. The silence stretched, McCoy just staring at him, waiting.

“Yeah.” Sulu finally answered, his voice extremely quiet, eyes never leaving the doctor.

“It’s probably best you stay here a little longer, ‘til you can use it again. I suspect this is down to the panaea filtration that has just taken place throughout your body.”

Sulu raised an eyebrow. McCoy’s posture hadn’t changed, his tone still maintaining that familiar note of professionalism. There had to be more to it. He’d _never_ seen an Alpha so disinterested in an Omega. “That’s it?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah, unless you wanna go out there, which I would most definitely NOT recommend, given that your guard is down. Although this place is filled with Beta’s, that doesn’t stop ‘em from suspecting aythin’. You guys are more easier to read than you realize, an’ these guys will do anythin’ for a scrap of meat in their situation, particularly.” McCoy explained. Omega’s were _usually_ pretty easy to read. Except Sulu didn’t really act like an Omega. McCoy had a theory for that. Perhaps the spray dulled the Omega tendencies, made them less in tune with their submissive natures. It was simply a theory, however.

“Alright..” Sulu agreed, still rather dumbfounded by how this had all played out. It was like this didn’t phase McCoy at _all_. He'd seen Alpha's simply walk past an Omega and all but pounce, he'd experienced it himself, but this was just so... weird. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with McCoy comparing him to a scrap of meat, but in this particular context he had a point.

McCoy turned to his desk, noting it was time for Sulu to have another hypo. He prepared it silently, debating with himself whether he should put this new development on the record or not. Normally, he would never have fathomed the thought of purposefully omitting something so important from a person’s medical file, however… Another side of him was wary of this particular knowledge getting into _other’s_ hands. Once he’d prepared the hypo, he walked over to Sulu.

“You’re taking this pretty calmly.” Sulu stated, unable to keep from pointing it out. He still kept a sharp eye on McCoy, not entirely trusting this whole professional act.

“I’m a doctor! What do you expect?” McCoy frowned, pausing.

“Calm and you aren’t usually put in the same sentence.” Sulu stated dryly.

“I see you’ve taken a great deal of time in studying my behavior.” The retort came out ruder than McCoy had meant and he turned his attention to the hypo, double checking the dosage.

Sulu glanced away as well, frowning slightly. He hadn’t meant to offend the doctor and it bothered him.

“Not really…”

He glanced back up at McCoy and the hypo in his hand, wondering how many more he was going to need.

McCoy moved closer, looking at Sulu with a face of conjecture for a few seconds. Guessing at what Sulu was thinking, he explained before administering the hypo. “This is gonna be the last one for now. It’ll treat you for any disembodied cells that may have transferred from the plant onto you. We don’t need any mutations goin’ on now, do we?”

Sulu gave a nervous smirk, tensing unconsciously, uneasy at having McCoy so near. Hypo or not, it was more than a little nerve wracking having McCoy’s hand so near his neck. “You don’t think super powers would be a good idea?”

The doctor raised a brow at that, intrigued. “If you think havin’ an extra arm and a leg for a super power is gonna be a good idea, then have engineering fix your arm next time. Sayin’ that, the amount of alcohol I’ve seen those boys consume probably makes them think they’ve got more than just a few extra legs.”

McCoy’s tone didn’t change, but Sulu was fairly certain he’d detected a hint of humor in the man’s words. He shook his head once, smirk becoming more natural as some of the tension faded. “They’d probably give me some of that alcohol and tell me to walk it off.” He leaded against the side of the bed behind him, watching McCoy curiously.

Bones rolled his eyes at that comment, stepping away and returning a few stray medical instruments to their rightful place. He was trying not to think too much about anything, but his mind couldn’t help but wonder.

“You plan on reporting this?”

Sulu’s question caught McCoy off guard. He scoffed, perhaps more harshly than was warranted, turning to look at Sulu sharply. “Why the hell would I do that?!”

Sulu winced at the tone, giving a half-hearted shrug to cover the reaction. “Sorry.” He apologized automatically. “Just… this isn’t exactly how I expected an Alpha to react, to be honest.” He explained, managing to phrase it in a way he hoped that McCoy wouldn’t take as an insult to himself.

“Yeah…” McCoy mused, biting his inner cheek and humming to himself shortly. He folded his arms, pressing forward. “You make a valid point, Mister Sulu. Luckily you won’t have to worry about me. I ain’t lookin’ for all that stuff. On the other hand, there are gonna be many who will.” He raised an eyebrow with a knowing look.

Sulu nodded slightly, eyes dropping. This… was not what he’d imagined. He knew he hadn’t been blowing his fears out of proportion, because McCoy was standing there warning him about what he already worried over. Just... with the easy manner McCoy was so okay with this, it was strange. The doctor wasn’t acting at all like the Alpha Sulu’s had thought he would be. Considering how gruff he was in general, Hikaru had though he’d be far more dominant and aggressive. But he hadn’t even made the slightest move or indication that he expected Sulu to show even the slightest bit of submission. And he'd just outright stated that he wasn't looking for that at all.

“On that note.” Sulu began, changing the topic somewhat. “How long til I can use the spray again?” If whatever McCoy had given him had flushed it out of his system, he really needed to know when exactly he could reapply it.

“Give it a good 24 hours and you’ll be using it as before.” McCoy assured him. The doctor ran a hand through his hair, scratching his scalp lightly. He remembered what had happened last time an Omega had been found on one of the bases. Everyone had basically gone haywire. A couple Alpha’s had gotten into a fight, and a handful of Beta’s had even joined in.

Sulu nodded, keeping quiet after that. 24 hours. He could deal with that. McCoy’d been pretty clear that he wasn’t a threat to Sulu., and he was inclined to believe toe doctor, unless he proved otherwise. He watched as McCoy turned, for all appearances lost in thought as he headed back toward his desk. Hikaru hopped back up onto the bed, laying back with a sigh. He tried to will the tension in his body to leave, staring up at the ceiling.

The first Alpha in years to know he was Omega, and he was fine. The only other one on board he knew for sure was Alpha was Captain Kirk, and it was highly unlikely the man was going to show up in sickbay. He was notorious for avoiding the place. He could make it 24 hours, then he could go back to everyone seeing him as Beta.

Nothing would change.

He would be fine.


	3. Chapter 3

26 hours later, only slightly longer than McCoy had promised, Sulu was back in his quarters applying the spray. He’d been jumpy the entire way back to his room, just the knowledge that he was basically completely defenseless riding him the entire walk there. True to his word, McCoy had kept to his uncaring attitude the entire time Sulu'd been in his presence. Hikaru counted himself lucky to only run across Beta’s on the way to his room, for all that he knew the statistics were in his favor.  
  
He paced around his room for a bit, just trying to even himself out. He wrote a bit of the days events in a log to send to Ben later, that simple act doing the most good in evening out his state of mind. After a while, however, he figured he should probably get his reports done. The time he’d spent just lounging around sickbay had put him a little behind, and he wanted to have the weekend free.  
Of course, just writing reports in his quarters was a sure way to fall asleep, so he gathered up the necessary data PADDs and made his way to deck 3. The corridors were mostly empty, it was extremely late and what crew were not on duty were most likely sleeping. He claimed a tabled in the lounge, PADD’s scattered around him, and set to work.

~~

The lift opened on Deck 3, revealing a group of red shirt security, laughing and joking as they headed to relax after completing their shift. Dale, leader of the little pack and an Alpha on top of that, led the way out of the lift, laughing and joking.

“I heard it was an apple addition.” One of his friends joked, shrugging comically.

“Maybe,” the other said, elbowing the first, “I could totally see that. You coming to the cafeteria?” He asked, turning his gaze on Dale who had come to an abrupt stop in the corridor.

Dale stood still, sensing something, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. “No… I-I’ve got to go somewhere.” He said, waving his friends off and turning down a different corridor. He walked in a brusque manner, intent on finding where that smell was coming from.

He slowed as he reached the lounge, tracking the scent without too much complication. It was so late there was hardly anything muddling the scent. He entered, glancing around the near empty room before his eyes landed on Sulu. He took a quiet deep breath, finalizing in his mind what exactly the scent entailed, and that it was for sure Sulu it was coming from.

“Heh…” He chuckled to himself, slowly walking up to the pilot. “Now that’s something I never would have expected.”

Sulu paused, looking up in surprise and confusion. He had been so focused on finishing the report he hadn’t noticed Dale entering the room. He blinked, vaguely shocked that this man was an Alpha. Did Starfleet pick out all the Alpha’s for this one ship? This was so weird. Unworried, he’d _just_ applied the spray after all, he turned his eyes back to the report in front of him.

“What, me doing reports this late?” He scoffed jokingly, shaking his head slightly. “Not the first time I’ve done this you know.”

Dale laughed as well, shaking his head and sliding into the seat beside Sulu. The Omega wanted to play that game, he could take a more casual approach. “Not the first time you’ve tried hiding something either, I bet.” He stated, lip curling. “When were you going to tell me, pilot?”

Sulu frowned at the tone, glancing up at Dale. The other man’s expression had him hesitating before he responded. “What are you talking about?” He kept his tone carefully neutral, mind racing. Did he know? How could he? McCoy had said that he could use the spray like normal... It was unlikely the doctor got it wrong. So far as Sulu'd ever heard, the man was the best in Starfleet. Maybe McCoy’d put his orientation into his file after all...?

Dale smirked, catching on to Sulu’s discomfort and hoping to intimidate him further. It was the easiest way to handle an Omega after all. “You have no idea what it feels like for us, do you? Just walking in this room caused me to shiver.”

Sulu tensed at that, nerves rising. He had no idea what was going on, why this Alpha could tell he was Omega, but he knew it would likely be in his best interest to get out of here. He forced out a chuckle, the sound more awkward than he would have liked. “I’ll just…go then. Gotta submit these reports and all.”

Sulu started to stand, freezing as Dale reached forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Wait, wait, wait!” Dale said, lip still curled in an odd smile. He pressed down on Sulu’s shoulder, the pilot sitting back down again instinctively. “Hold on, sweetie, we were just talking.”

Hikaru tensed further at the pet name, to nervous and worried to really bristle over it properly. The familiarity in which Dale had taken this conversation did not bode well. “Not really in the mood to talk. I need to turn these in.” Sulu tried to explain, hoping the thin excuse would be enough for Dale to let him leave.

Dale laughed. “What are you acting so nervous for?! I’m not going to do anything.” He relaxed back in his seat, smiling at Sulu. “Just… do the reports later, okay? I’m just wanting to have a quick chat with you, that’s all.”

Sulu blinked at that, unconsciously mirroring Dale’s stance and settling back in his seat. He was still on edge, but the reassurance from the Alpha was oddly settling. After all, McCoy had reacted very peaceably about his being Omega, maybe this guy would be the same? He knew better, he really did, but he dared to think that maybe he’d been overreacting.

“Yeah, sorry. Sure.” He agreed.

Dale paused for a moment, letting Sulu calm down a bit more. After a few seconds of silence, he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I was going to tell all these flaming Beta’s on here?”

Sulu raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t respond. What was he supposed to say to that? Yes? No? Either one of those would only upset the other man.

“Come on, I wouldn’t do that.” Dale laughed again, shaking his head.

“Look, Dale.” Sulu began, frowning slightly as he shrugged. This whole conversation was putting him off balance, almost more so than the one he’d had with McCoy, but for so many different reasons and on a whole different level. “It’s nothing personal.”

“It is to me.” Dale stated, smile still in place though his eyes had a cold look to them. “How can I help you if you keep such things from me?”

“I’m… not asking for help.” Sulu informed him, shifting a little. It wasn’t easy defying an Alpha, and that’s what this felt like, which was weird because he’d done that many times before. Why was saying no so difficult now? “I’m fine.”

“What do you mean? Of course you need help!” Dale insisted, leaning towards him slightly. “Heh, how are you going to look after yourself now that I know your secret? This has an effect on me too now.”

“I can look after myself just fine.” Sulu insisted, eyeing Dale warily. He forced himself to meet Dale’s gaze evenly.

“Ha! You’re joking.”

Sulu glanced away at that, frustrated. “C’mon Dale.. seriously.” His gaze snapped back to Dale as the Alpha let out a slight growl.

“You think I’m not being serious?” He asked, frowning deeply, eyes angry.

Sulu tensed, pressing back in his seat a bit. He smiled nervously, instincts demanding he appease the Alpha. “No, no. I do, just…” Fuck, he hadn’t meant to upset the guy, he just wanted to get him to back off. Dammit, he was so out of practice.

“Do you remember what sort of family I come from?” Dale interrupted Sulu’s attempt to explain. “If they were to find out about you, no question that you’d be accepted right away.”

Sulu licked his lip uneasily. He had _no_ idea what kind of family this guy had. But he could easily read between the lines here. He paused, trying to think of the best response to that unspoken offer. “I’ve got a family, Ben, you remember?” He responded lightly, hoping that the mention of him already having someone would end this.

“What…?” Dale intoned, his forehead creasing immediately.

“Uh… Ben.” Sulu said hesitantly. “He… he visited once.” Dale didn’t show any signs of backing off, or any sign of caring about someone else’s ‘claim’ on Sulu. Actually, he seemed pretty pissed.

“Ben?” Dale all but spat the name. “I’ve never heard of him!”

Sulu shrugged, going for nonchalance as he answered. “Really?” He shifted uneasily, eyes glancing quickly to the door. “We’ve been together a while.” Dale had no idea who Ben was, so he probably didn’t know Ben was a Beta, and a civilian on top of that.

“Must be a pathetic Alpha if I haven’t even heard of the name.”

Sulu let the insult to Ben slide easily, too relieved that Dale wasn’t calling him out on anything to really take offense. He’d probably feel guilty about that later, but for now he began to stand again, thinking that this settled the matter. “Mm, well, I should go.”

Instantly, Dale reached out to stop him, Sulu freezing in place half standing. “Where do you think you’re going?” Dale snapped, eyes hardening.

“To… finish these reports?” Sulu said, the statement coming out more as a question.

“You think playing smart with me now is going to solve this?”

Hikaru cursed internally at the angry tone, stomach turning with anxiety. He really hated that part of him that wanted to just apologize senselessly. “I’m not trying to play smart.” He insisted instead.

“You’re not going to leave until you agree to be mine.” Dale growled, eyes boring into Sulu. He knew the Omega was probably worth a lot of money, it was so _incredibly_ rare to run across one these days.

“I can’t do that.” Sulu choked out a half-panicked laugh at Dale’s statement. “C’mon, I’ll just… Look, I’ll make sure I don’t bother you anymore, okay?” He was reaching blindly for anything that might solve this, even if he didn’t know how he might actually accomplish that.

“Hey Dale, ‘sup?” Sulu glanced up at the new voice, straightening and shrugging out of Dale’s reach as the two redshirts entered the room. The speaker was giving the two of them a confused look. “What are you doing?”

Dale watched his friends enter briefly before looking back at Sulu. “Answer me now.” He demanded, voice low.

“I told you.” Sulu repeated, giving Dale a helpless look. “I can’t agree to that.”

Dale reached out quickly, grabbing Sulu’s arm and dragging him close, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “Looks like I won’t be able to protect you from these guys, then.”

“What? Dale, what are you doing?” Sulu hissed back in a panicked whisper.

“Hey guys! Lian, Jared!” Dale spoke loudly, causing Sulu to jerk in surprise. “Guess what I found out today?”

Sulu’s eyes widened, trying to pull way. “Enough, stop it.” He demanded, still whispering as he watched to two red shirts draw closer.

“Yeah? What?” Lian asked, eyebrow raised.

“My Alpha senses picked up on this little _Omega_ here.” Dale sneered.

Lian and Jared’s eyes widened, the both of them looking at Sulu. “Dale, you sure…?” Jared asked.

“Of course I’m sure!” Dale snapped. “Just because you don’t have the nose, doesn’t mean mine isn’t capable of working. Naturally, I’m superior than you anyway.”

Sulu let out a short curse, struggling all the harder to get out of Dale’s grip. This was like something out of a nightmare. Sure, he could deal with an enemy, even an Alpha one, that was fine. He’d made it through the Academy as an Omega after all. But it was different, if nothing else but on a phycological level, when it was someone who was supposed to be an ally, part of the proverbial pack.

Dale let go of Sulu, shoving him roughly away. Sulu stumbled a couple steps, relieved to stay on his feet, and turned to face the trio.

“How did you hide that?!” Lian asked, for all appearances just fascinated by the discover.

Jared scoffed, crossing his arms. “The Federation undoubtedly knew about this.”

“Wait until Brad hears about this.” Lian commented, turning to Jared. “He’ll go mental.”

Sulu glanced between them as he followed the conversation, deciding to interject at the mention of someone else being brought in on this. “C’mon, guys, let’s just hold on a minute.” He considered calling security to come help sort this out, but he was hesitant to do so. He hadn’t known Dale was an Alpha, how could he be sure there weren’t others? The last thing he wasn’t was to have two Alpha’s fighting over him, giving him some complex and making him feel like he _owed_ the winner something.

The three weren’t paying much attention to him, too busy laughing as if this were some joke. He guessed to them, it was. Sulu took a slow step toward the door.

Jared grinned widely. “I’ll go tell him!” He decided suddenly, unable to resist the idea of Brad’s reaction to this news.

Dale laughed as Jared turned, rushing out of the lounge. “Get ready for your new life, pilot.”

Sulu waited for a second, giving Jared time enough to not be in his way before he made a break for the door. He had no idea whether Dale or Liam followed him or not, just booking it down the corridor quickly.

He slowed turning one corner, dropping to a quick walk as he saw another crew man standing next to an open panel. The engineer looked up, noticing Sulu. “Hey, Mister Sulu.” He greeted him with a nod.

They didn’t know. Sulu forced himself to stop, giving the crewman a polite smile and greeting him with a nod. He needed to play it cool, there wasn’t anything wrong. He had to get himself under control. “Hi, uh…” He hesitated, unable to recall the ensign’s name. “Sorry, lil busy…”

The ensign shrugged, turning back to what he’d been doing. “Okay.”

Sulu blinked at the easy acceptance. It occurred to him that he should find somewhere safer to be until he’d at the very least calmed down. It was vaguely embarrassing how much that encounter with Dale had affected him. Yeah, it had been a really long time since he’d had to deal with that, and his instincts had been going all over the place, but this was ridiculous.

He walked at a far more sedate pace down the hall, making his way to his quarters.


	4. Chapter 4

Embarrassingly, it took Sulu a good few hours to venture out of his quarters. He hadn’t wasted the time, however. He’d checked out each canister of spray, making sure nothing was wrong with them. They were exactly as they always had been, and the gave off the exact same Beta scent as always. It just didn’t make sense.

With little in the way of answers, he made his way to sickbay. This had all started with McCoy and those vaccinations, so perhaps the doctor would have some insight. He just hoped McCoy was still there.

He entered medbay, not even needing to look around to find McCoy, the doctor was busy fussing someone out over something. Sulu wasn’t exactly in the mood to try and catch on to what had happened.

“Yeah, we’ll see where that gets you.” McCoy snapped, giving an angry glare to the nurse who was having to put up with the annoying patient. Used to this attitude, the nurse didn’t even react, just shook her head sympathetically to the doctor.

Sulu edged into the room, hesitant to interrupt McCoy’s little rant, his instincts already up in arms over the angry Alpha scent he was catching.

McCoy grumbled to himself, walking over to his desk and pausing, immediately picking up on something. He turned, looking at Sulu with a raised brow. “Long time no see, Mister Sulu.” He walked over to the pilot. “How’s that head been doin’?”

Hikaru glanced around uneasily before answering. “It’s not hurting, but I wouldn’t call it good. Need to talk to you, if that’s okay?” He wanted to cringe at how uncertain that sounded, but he couldn’t help it.

McCoy frowned, crossing his arms again. “Easy…” He muttered, evaluating Sulu. He looked the Asian up and down, noting the man’s strange body language. “Yeah, go on. Talk.”

Sulu hesitated, shifting over to the side of the room, away from the nurses and patients. He eyed McCoy as the doctor followed him silently, still nervous despite himself. “So, I think there’s been a side effect of those injections you gave me…” He began, not really sure how else to start this conversation.

McCoy listened intently, head tilting slightly as he considered the man in front of him. “What changes have you experienced? Unexplained rashes? Dizzy spells?”

“No.” Hikaru frowned, speaking quietly. “More like someone pointing out to a handful of people that I’m Omega.” He wasn’t going to go into the _other_ things he’d noticed had changed. How much more submissive he’d felt, that stronger awareness of the Alphas he was around. “Did you report it after all?”

“Where d’ya get that absurd idea from?!” McCoy whispered harshly, leaning in closer. He should have updated the report, but he’d been procrastinating it for good reason. “I ain’t reported anything that relates to that, as of now, if that’s what you’re askin’.”

Sulu shrank back at the angry tone, resisting the urge to bare his neck in apology. He couldn’t stop himself from asking. “Did you _tell_ anyone then?”

McCoy frowned, offended that Sulu would think he would have given such classified information to another crewmember aboard. “What the hell happened?” He growled, ignoring the question.

Hikaru actually took a step back at that, glancing away. “Well, how’d he know then?!” He responded, gathering himself and looking back at McCoy. “I used the spray, just like always. But Dale comes in and just _knows_.” His words were coming in a quick panicked rush, though he managed to keep his voice quiet. “If you didn’t report it or tell him, what happened?”

“Dale?” McCoy straightened, speaking to himself. There were too many names rolling through is head all at once, though he soon realized who Sulu was talking about. There were only three people on board that would have noticed Sulu's scent, and all of them had that designation in their file. “You applied the spray?” He asked, tilting his head slightly as Sulu nodded once. He was confident it was taking no effect, he’d scented as much as soon as the Omega had walked in. Just hadn’t realized. “By the time I discharged you, it should have worked properly, as before. Did you take anything else with it?”

“No.” Sulu answered, shaking his head. “I used it just like usual.”

McCoy squeezed his eyes shut, reaching one hand up to rub his temples. “Damn.” He muttered to himself, thinking hard. “I knew an uproar would happen if another Alpha were to find out. I’m gonna run some tests.” He turned, hurrying off to prepare some things.

Sulu watched him walk across the room, feeling weirdly guilty. Whatever uproar was happening, or would happen, it was going to be his fault. He trailed along listlessly after McCoy, unsure what else to do. He’d probably be needed for these tests anyway.

“I speculate something's happened to your immunoglobulin, resulting in the spray taking no effect on your body. The chemicals that were injected inside you were designed to attach and destroy certain foreign substances but there may be a possibility that a mutation had indeed, taken place." McCoy explained, glancing up at Sulu as he came over.

"So, is there a fix?" Sulu asked hopefully.

“This is a mere guess, Mister Sulu. Now shut up and cooperate.” He huffed, reaching over to pull Sulu over to take a blood sample.

Typical pushy Alpha, Sulu thought to himself, though he shut up. At least he wasn’t being as rough or demanding as Dale.

“Not exactly the super powers you were hoping for, were they.” McCoy commented during one of the tests, not looking up at Sulu nor expecting an answer.

Sulu spoke up anyway, tone laced with a sarcastic kind of irritation. “Well, I for sure wasn’t hoping _this_ would happen…”

He was bored to death before McCoy spoke up again. “Surprise, surprise. Just as I thought.

“Yeah?” Sulu asked, sitting up from where he’d lay down lazily on a bed. After over an hour just hanging out he was far less nervous and shifty. “What is it?”

“Your immune system has changed in the sense that the spray you use is no longer sufficient. You’re gonna have to find a more adequate one.”

“Easier said than done.” Sulu frowned. He had no idea what he was going to do about the whole situation. Yeah, he needed to get a new spray, but it wasn’t like they came in that many varieties. And how was he going to get by in the meantime.

“But that ain’t the only thing you’re worried about, is it?”

“Of course not.” Sulu growled, shooting McCoy a look. He didn’t need the man taunting him about it. He let out a short sigh a moment later. “You got any advice on dealing with the guys that know? Dale seemed to be the most affected.” He felt ridiculous having to ask this, but.. McCoy was right, he was worried.

“I told him I’d keep out of his way, not bother him.” Sulu shrugged lightly, gaze dropping to the floor, uncomfortable. This was so embarrassing. “I haven’t really had to deal with this kinda thing in a long time.”

“If you think you can match up to someone like him and the rest of the guys on this vessel, you’ve got another thing comin’.” McCoy warned, expression full of concern. “Mister Sulu, you do realize the jeopardy you may be in?”

“Of course I do.” Hikaru replied, glancing over at McCoy. “Would I have come to you otherwise?” If he’d had his choice he’d have dealt with this on his own, not had to involve the Alpha. Much as McCoy said that he didn’t have to worry about him, Sulu still didn’t trust him fully. He had no desire to turn around one day and McCoy be there expecting repayment for all the assistance he’d given him.

“I don’t know of any medicine on board that would fix that. You’re gonna have to try another spray once we get to another base.” McCoy stated, tapping a finger on his chin in thought. “Which won’t be for quite a while.”

“Yeah, I know” Sulu crossed his arms, fidgeting nervously. “And I might not even find one there, depending.” He frowned, the though occurring to him that this was going to make his shifts on the bridge awkward. Captain Kirk was an Alpha, what if he… Sulu wouldn't be able to just walk away from him, or avoid him. And the man would probably be able to get away with a lot more than what ever it was Dale'd had in mind for him... 

“Looks like you’re going to have to be around me for a bit of time, then.”

Sulu looked back at McCoy, pulled from his thoughts. “That’s better than the alternative.” He admitted, though his tone showed he wasn’t exactly ecstatic over the prospect.

McCoy pulled a face at that comment. “Have they threatened you at all?”

“Not in so many words.” Sulu answered carefully. “Nothing direct just…” He shrugged. It was difficult to really describe it. He wanted to blame it on that suppressed Omega instinct coming out and just blowing things out of proportion. After all, none of them had made any direct threats.

McCoy frowned at that, something inside stirring at the thought. He refused to focus too much on the feeling, or tried not to anyway. “Hmm. Anything else you want to confide about?”

“Other than Dale wanting me to ‘belong’ to him, and some other guy getting way too excited to tell a friend, no. That’s really all that happened.” Everything else was just Sulu’s worries, and he wasn’t going to be sharing those. Not to McCoy.

“Well, you know where I am.” McCoy stated, inclining his head before leaving Sulu to his own devices, heading off to continue his shift in sickbay.


	5. Chapter 5

Sulu spent the next little while lounging around sickbay. He ignored the few odd looks he got, chatting with a couple buddies that ended up needing to drop by for minor injuries, and did his best to stay out of the way. He told himself he wasn’t hiding, that the incident with Dale hadn’t really rattled him, and that he wasn’t worried about his shift on the bridge after the weekend.

He had a few days to hopefully figure something out, some way to cover so that the Captain wouldn’t notice. And yeah, he realized how stupid that sounded, but honestly, it was more idiotic to think he’d get lucky enough to run into _two_ Alpha’s who didn’t automatically try and go all dominance on him. Dale had freaked him out enough, he didn’t think he could handle the same from Kirk.

He was chatting with one of the scientists about the plant that had landed him in this whole situation when his comm chirped at him. There had apparently been an incident in the shuttle bay, and one of the ensigns had done something to a shuttle and messed up the flight controls. His groaned in exaggeration, drawing a laugh from his scientist friend, and headed out of sickbay.

Yeah, it might be safer sticking around McCoy, but he couldn’t ignore his duties. So, he headed to the shuttle bay, finding the source of the commotion easily. He didn’t notice the group of engineers whispering to each other, a few who weren’t part of the conversation either focusing on their work or staring in silence.

“Alright, what’ve we got.” Sulu asked, trotting over to the shuttle in question. The gold shirted ensign was young, nearly in tears.

He listened to her explanation patiently, shaking his head slightly. Turned out to be little more than a rookie mistake, and easily fixed. He set about fixing the shuttle’s systems, explaining things her throughout the process.

The ensign was far less upset once he’d finished fixing the thing, relieved not to be in trouble and glad to have help learning where she’d gone wrong. Sulu took the time to give her a firm little lecture about how _not_ to damage a shuttle when running a diagnostic program before sending her on her way.

Sulu sighed lightly, shaking his head and replacing the panel on the shuttle.

“Is it true?”

Sulu turned to see an engineer standing a few feet away, looking at him inquisitively.

“What?” He frowned.

“You’re an Omega?”

Sulu paused at that unexpected question. Damn, word traveled fast. “Where did you hear that?” He asked, turning and heading into the shuttle to run some additional system checks. Might as well make sure _he’d_ done the repairs properly.

“Someone is after you.” The engineer said, following him into the shuttle. “A lot of people.”

“Yeah?” Sulu glanced at him curiously, unsure as to where this conversation was going.

“Really, mate. Watch out.”

Sulu lifted an eyebrow at that. “Alright, yeah.” The engineer nodded, turning and exiting the shuttle. Sulu stared after him momentarily, not sure what to make of that conversation. The part about people being after him was… vague, to say the least. In general, he knew that simply being Omega meant there were a great many people who’d want him, as a collection piece if nothing else. Like a rare jewel or piece of art.

Without anything specific to go on, however, the guy’s warning was basically useless. He tried to shrug it off, turning back and completing the system checks. Satisfied that everything was working properly, he shut down the craft, exiting and heading out of the shuttle bay.

He wasn’t entirely sure where he wanted to go, but he was fairly limited on options. He didn’t want to risk running into Dale or the Captain, not while he was so blatantly Omega. He also didn’t want to go back to sickbay, he’d never liked being there in the first place and it was excruciatingly boring. Which left him with his quarters. He could deal with that. He had a letter to Ben he wanted to finish and send anyway.

“Yo, Sulu!”

Hikaru stopped, turning to find three redshirted crew in the corridor walking toward him. His eyes narrowed at the conniving smirk on the speaker’s face, the others’ expression just as devious.

“Dale told me about you.” The one with the smirk said, coming to a stop a few feet away.

One of his companion nodded in agreement. “Had to come check it out, see if he was for real.”

“Hey, don’t get too much of a swelled head.” The first scolded, shaking his head at Sulu’s frown. “Not all of us want to be with you.. we just… want you.” He chuckled, smirking again.

“Would do good in my collection, don’t you think?”

Sulu glanced between them uneasily. He had a really bad feeling about this. “I don’t plan on being a part of any collection.”

“I think you hurt his feelings.” The man snickered, glancing at the one who’d spoken about collecting Sulu.

“Hikaru Sulu? Hurting someone’s feelings? Is that even possible for an Omega to do such a thing?”

“They can’t fight for themselves, I know that.”

“Wouldn’ta thought one could hide right under Dale’s nose, neither.” The guy shook his head at Sulu, taking a step closer. “Way I hear it, you were really rude.”

Hikaru tried to keep a level head, nerves rising the longer the trio spoke. They were acting like he wasn’t even there, talking over him, about him, like he was nothing. “We’re all just members of Starfleet, alright? Let’s just drop this, yeah?” He tried reasoning, hoping to get through to them. They were Beta’s, he couldn’t be affecting them that much. What was their deal?

The answer to that question came in the form of Dale stepping around the corner on the other side of him. “Drop it? Let’s drop what?” He asked with a smirk. It was obvious he’d been listening the whole time.

“He thinks he can just flaunt around and go his merry little way.” Sulu glanced at the redshirt. This was going sideways, and fast. He wasn’t going to be able to talk his way out of this one. He reached down, pulling his comm and flipping it open. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but he knew better than to try and take on three Beta’s and an Alpha on his own.

The quieter of the three Beta’s stepped forward quickly, snatching at the comm in Sulu’s hand. The pilot fumbled with it, nearly dropping it. Before he could get a good grip on it and back away, the other red shirt had skipped forward, snatching it out of his hand. He held it out tauntingly at Sulu. “Guess we aren’t entertaining enough?”

“What is he doing?”

“Who knows.” The one with the comm shrugged, stepping back when Sulu started to make a move to reclaim the device. Hikaru glared, not daring to move too much closer to the three. He wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of here, but he knew better than to turn his back on them.

“He was about to snitch, me thinks.”

“Figures.” Red shirt laughed, tucking the comm into a pocket.

Dale moved forward, grabbing Sulu by the shoulder and shoving him a bit. Hikaru stepped back to keep his balance, trying to get, and stay, out of the Alpha’s reach. “Enough guys, c’mon…” He tried to put some confidence in his voice, but his heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest.

Dale all but growled at that, the three Beta’s staring, almost in shock, but continuing to watch. “Was that an attempt at a command?” The Alpha snarled, striding over and shoving Sulu again, harder. He turned to the others. “Did you see that, guys? He was trying to tell me what to do.”

Sulu stumbled back as Dale shoved him, back hitting the wall solidly. “No, no, that’s now what I meant…” He tried to explain, backpedaling on his earlier statement.

“He did. He sure did.” Redshirt tisked lightly, small smirk on his lips.

Dale turned his attention back to Sulu. “Looks like Ben didn’t do a good job training you.” He lashed out without warning, throwing a punch at Sulu. On instinct, Hikaru ducked, almost too slow in diving under the fist. Wide eyed, he turned in time to see Dale smash his hand against the wall. The Alpha yelled in pain, breathing hard and turning an angry glare at Sulu.

Sulu backed away, Redshirt stepping up behind him to block his path. “Who’s Ben? No one on this ship. Right?”

Dale gave a short growl at Redshirt, though he was thankful that the man had stopped the pilot. “Hold him.” He ordered, shaking his still smarting hand as Redshirt grabbed Sulu.

“Don’t you know good Omega’s are supposed to sit still?” Redshirt scolded, grabbing Sulu’s arms before the man could slip away, ignoring the pilot’s curses.

“Give him a good slap for me.” Dale huffed, smirking.

Redshirt chuckled at that, pulling Sulu around and backhanding him across the face harshly. He grabbed Sulu by the collar and pulled him back upright. Dale laughed at that, pressing forward and grabbing Sulu by the shirt. Redshirt shoved Sulu forward as Dale pulled, sending the pilot all but tumbling into the Alpha. “So clumsy.” He chided.

“Come on, bitch.” Dale snapped, shoving Sulu downward.

Hikaru fell to his knees, flinching away from the position and fighting to get up. He only ended up sprawled on the floor, Dale lifting the heel of his boot and smashing it onto Sulu’s stomach. Sulu let out an involuntary whine of pain at that, struggling to get out from under him. He cried out as one of the other Beta’s came over, kicking him viciously in the side.

He fought not to panic as the third started to walk forward, intent on joining in. He managed to wriggle free, scooting away a foot or so, climbing to his knees and breathing heavily, blood on his lips. He wasn’t given any time to recover, Dale turning and grabbing his collar, punching him over and over again.

Redshirt laughed, goading Dale on as he watched Sulu try and curl up against the onslaught, trying to protect his head. One of the other Beta’s frowned, catching a flash of gold at the end of the corridor. “Someone was just here!”

“Leave it!” Dale snapped, stopping for a moment to turn and snarl at the Beta.

Redshirt frowned. “Should we get outta here?”

Dale shoved Sulu down, standing and turning to the other three. Hikaru shifted slightly, watching them. “Security will be here soon.” He coughed out.

“Make sure he doesn’t get away.” Dale growled at one of the Beta’s, looking around for the comm.

Redshirt figured out what he was looking for after a moment, pulling the device from his pocket. “Lookin for this?”

“Yeah.” Dale nodded, taking it. “I think the little pilot here forgets who the top dog is around here.”

“He hasn’t apologized yet, Dale.”

Sulu shrank back slightly as Dale’s attention returned to him. The Alpha strode forward, bending down and grabbing Sulu’s hair roughly. Sulu let a little yelp at that, lashing out blindly. He absolutely _hated_ the feeling of his hair being pulled. He almost regretted the action at the furious snarl Dale let out, but any retaliations were interrupted by the arrival of security. _About time_.

Dale dropped his hold on Sulu, straightening and turning to fight security, taking out one of them almost immediately. The goldshirt who’d brought them looked at Sulu with wide, shocked eyes. “He needs a nurse!” He jumped back as one of the security officers wrestled with a Beta before sending a quick message to sickbay.

Sulu did his best to shuffle back from the fighting, dragging himself to a semi sitting position against the wall.

McCoy arrived a few moments later, two nurses behind him. He stopped, blinking in shock at the state of Sulu, gaze drifting to Redshirt as he made the decision to run. “Tend to the patient.” He ordered the nurses, before rushing over to stop Redshirt.

Redshirt skidding to a stop as McCoy blocked his path, glowering at the doctor. The doctor ignored his medkit, instead moving forward and grabbing Redshirt by the collar, using both hands. He grit his teeth, angrily pushing the man against the wall.

“Hey, hey! Easy!” Redshirt yelped, wide eyed. He had not expected _this_ reaction from the doctor.

McCoy’s eyes were livid, though he decided against making another move against this guy upon seeing Dale out of the corner of his eye. The other Alpha had knocked another security officer unconscious and had come to a halt, looking at Sulu then to McCoy. Dale frowned, paying little attention as the nurses knelt next to Sulu, trying to help him up and move him.

“Heh, maybe you’ll put up longer than those idiots they sent out here!” Dale scoffed, walking slowly toward the doctor.

Sulu was not a fan of moving. Everything hurt, and he was 100% done with people touching him. Still, he tried, forcing himself on his feet slowly.

McCoy frowned, eyes shifting over to Sulu. “You alright, kid?”

Sulu shrugged automatically, instantly regretting it at the flash of pain that met him. “Been better… I guess.” He answered, his usually sass and confidence missing. His breath was ragged as he tried to stand. The action was difficult, painful, even with the help of the nurses.

“Better?!” Dale laughed, stopping and shooting a look at Sulu. “I creamed you!”

Sulu winced at that, looking away from the Alpha. Dale smirked, turning to look back at McCoy. “What are you going to do now, doctor? Inject me to sleep?”

McCoy turned his gaze to Dale slowly, strangely calm. “I’m gonna kick your ass.”


	6. Chapter 6

Sulu’s gaze snapped up to McCoy at that. No. No, no. This was not good. Two Alpha’s fighting over an Omega was never good for the Omega. The winner always wanted _something_. And quite frankly, Sulu was absolutely fucking _terrified_ of what might happen if McCoy lost.

Redshirt scoffed, less uneasy even being pinned by McCoy now that Dale was challenging McCoy. “You’re a doctor.”

McCoy looked back at Redshirt. “At least _someone_ gets it.” He commented, knowing full well that wasn’t what Redshirt here meant.

Dale took the opportunity to dash forward, grabbing the doctor by the side. He pulled back a fist, punching McCoy. The doctor fell back, stumbling a step before he regained his footing. He wiped the blood from his mouth and shook his head, glaring at Dale. He pressed forward, grabbing Dale, hands holding the side of the other Alpha’s head, before pushing the man back and smashing him into the wall.

The nurse beside Sulu tried to tear her eyes from the fight, focusing her attention on Sulu. “We need to get you out of here! Come!” She urged, trying to hold Sulu up.

Sulu was managing to stand, just barely, but he couldn’t bring himself to move away. He couldn’t take his eyes from McCoy, not even registering the nurse’s words. This was literally the worst thing that could have happened.

Redshirt slipped up behind McCoy, grabbing the doctor in an attempt to help Dale. McCoy turned, pressing close to Redshirt and trying to force him down to the ground. Redshirt flailed, panicking as he tried to keep his balance. He fell backward, pulling McCoy down as well and ending up underneath the doctor.

McCoy took the opportunity to swing a punch at Redshirts face, feeling a tiny bit of satisfaction at the sound of the other man’s nose breaking, blood pouring down his face.

Dale wasn’t about to let his friend just lay there and get clobbered. He fell on top of the doctor, grabbing his arm and twisting, trying to break it.

McCoy yelped, rolling over and off of Redshirt to free himself. Dale released the arm by mistake, throwing another punch quickly.

McCoy fell back, taking the punch and gritting his teeth. Every moment that passed by only fueled his rage. He rolled on his back, pulling Dale along and swinging his fist at the man’s face. Dale’s head snapped back a bit, the Alpha rolling off balance onto the floor. McCoy moved quickly, taking the opportunity to sit up, grabbing Dale and swinging again, knocking him out cold.

Redshirt blinked in shock, scrambling to his feet and making a break for it, running right into the arms of additional security as they finally showed up.

McCoy stood up slowly, feeling his own bloody nose, and closed his eyes for a second. He let out a slow breath, trying to do a quick mental examination of himself. Not too much damage, all told. He opened his eyes as a nurse came over, his medical kit in her hands. “Doctor McCoy.”

He nodded in acknowledgement, staring at her and then the bag for a few seconds before retrieving it.

“Take all eyewitnesses and those involved in the fight into questioning.” One of the security officers was talking over the comm, not looking forward to the tedium of having to deal with this.

McCoy ignored him, eyes drifting over to Sulu. The Omega was staring in a blank kind of shock. McCoy frowned, starting to walk over, though he stopped short at the panicked look on Sulu’s face. The Omega tried to back up, would have fallen had it not been for the nurse at his side. McCoy let him be, turning instead to look to the security officers who hadn’t been so lucky in dealing with Dale. The nurses would be able to deal with Sulu until the man had calmed down.

~~

Sulu waited, leg bouncing nervously, for this little incident to be done with. He’d told his side of the story, more than once, and was ready to be done with this. They’d questioned the Beta’s and Dale first, allowing Sulu time to visit sickbay. He wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or not that it had been the nurses, and not McCoy, who’d seen to his injuries.

After the fight, he’d been kind of out of it. He did remember the panic he’d felt when McCoy had made to approach. He knew it was foolish, thinking McCoy would suddenly force him to submit, but a part of him had been afraid of that. And another part of him had wanted that. It was ingrained in the instinct of an Omega, submitting to the victorious Alpha, whether that Alpha was a mate or not. It didn’t make it any less terrifying.

So, Sulu hadn’t wanted McCoy anywhere near him, just in case he did something stupid like baring his neck or some idiotic submissive gesture that would be taken the wrong way. Or worse, taken seriously. Still, he kinda wanted to thank him. So far as Hikaru was concerned, the doctor had basically risked his neck to help him. Which, in a way, made it all the worse. Hikaru was all over the place emotionally about this whole thing, and being locked up in this room waiting for the case to be settle was not helping.

And, okay, maybe locked up was a strong word. He wasn’t the one in trouble here. But he was sick of waiting, and honestly just wanted to be done with today. It had been hours already, though he'd spent most of that in sickbay, and he was exhausted.

He looked up as the door opened again, eyes widening as Kirk walked through. He was standing in an instant, backing up, because _fuck_ here was another Alpha, and he did not want to deal with this _again_.

“Easy.” Kirk gave him a lopsided smile, holding up his hands.

Sulu cast a glance at the door as it shut behind the Captain, the Alpha stopping with the table between them. He dropped his gaze, looking to the side nervously, not exactly baring his throat though he tilted his head slightly. “Captain.”

“Hey, it’s alright, calm down Sulu. I’m just here to talk.” Kirk reassured, sitting down at the table. Sulu shifted, watching him for a moment, but he appeared completely serious and at ease. “I know it’s probably not the best time to be springing another Alpha on you, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Sulu nodded slightly, because he sure as heck wasn’t gonna call his Captain a liar even by implication, and forced himself to move back to the table and sit down.

“So, I hear Bones kicked some ass.” Kirk chuckled, slouching lazily in his seat.

Sulu raised an eyebrow in surprise. An odd conversation opener, but somehow it put him a bit more at ease.

“You don’t have to worry about Dale and his friends, they’re in the brig and won’t be on the enterprise for long.” Kirk continued, frowning slightly and tapping an agitated finger on the table briefly. He grinned back up at Sulu a moment later. “Can’t believe I missed that though, I mean, I’ve never seen Bones that _pissed_ before.”

Sulu smiled at that, finding his tense muscles relaxing despite himself. He’d always liked Kirk, even if the guy was an Alpha, he just had this air about him. Kirk straightened up some, grin widening some seeing Sulu had relaxed. “So how are you, anyway?”

“I’ll be fine, Sir.” Sulu replied, shrugging lightly. He elaborated at Kirks disbelieving look. “It’s nothing I’ve never dealt with, it’s just been a long time.”

Kirk nodded at that. “Well, I haven’t talked with Bones yet, but we’ll figure something out. Til then, try not to worry too much.” He gave Sulu a reassuring grin. “At least now you know you’ll be fine on the bridge. Yeah?”

Sulu blinked at that. This did actually solve that little problem. It felt like forever ago he’d been worrying about how Kirk would react to finding out. Somehow, he really _had_ lucked out and gotten two Alpha’s who were fine with him being an Omega. He smiled, letting out a little huff of relieved laughter. “Yeah. Thank you, Captain.”

“No problem.” Kirk said, standing up. “Anyway, you’re all done here if you wanna get out of here, get some rest or something.” With a short little playful wave, he left.

Sulu shook his head, standing up and heading out as well. He still wasn’t 100% sure he believed his luck on this one. It was such a rollercoaster of a day. He made his way back to sickbay, because the nurses had told him in no uncertain terms that he was _not_ discharged yet, thank you very much, and that he’d better come back.

Seeing as he didn’t want a horde of angry nurses after him, he wasn’t quite up to running that fast yet, he went back to sickbay. McCoy wasn’t there and it didn’t take too long for Sulu to talk the nurses into discharging him. A few hours later and he was back in his quarters, collapsing on the bed, ready to sleep for the next hundred years.


	7. Chapter 7

A couple days later found Sulu in sickbay again, getting the all clear to go back on duty. Hikaru was sitting on one of the biobeds, patiently waiting for the nurse to come back and tell him he was all cleared.

“Hey, kid.” McCoy’s voice drew Sulu’s attention, the doctor walking over to him.

“Hey.” Sulu responded, tone slightly subdued. It was the first time seeing McCoy since the incident, and he was still a little wary as to what to expect.

“The nurses told me you got discharged after a few hours.” He raised an eyebrow, looking Sulu over briefly. “Looked like they’d given you some nasty, ol’ injuries back there.”

Sulu shrugged lightly, glancing away. He’d done a whole lot of convincing to get out of sickbay as fast as he had, and he knew full well that it probably wouldn’t have worked had it been McCoy who was in charge of his treatment. He really hoped the guy wouldn’t press the issue too much. “Yeah…uh. Thanks, by the way for… helping.” He fumbled a bit over his words, still not really sure how to process the whole thing.

He’d talked to Kirk once more since the incident, and the Captain had been just as okay with things as before. And here was McCoy, acting just as unconcerned about it.

McCoy dismissed the thanks, not thinking too much of it in the sense of all reward and glory. “I’ve got some good news for you.”

“Yeah?” Sulu asked with a wary curiosity, glancing back up at McCoy.

“Had a chat with Jim and he has agreed to let us sort that situation of yours out by making a stop at the next megalopolis planet. We’re gonna go buy you somethin’ so that you won’t have to keep turning your head every time you walk down the hall.”

“That’s a relief.” Sulu sighed lightly. “So long as I can survive the trip there.”

"Has anyone been giving you any grief?"

“No…” Sulu answered, shifting uncomfortably. “I think word got around.” Considering who exactly it was that had beaten the crap out of Dale, word had spread pretty quick. And most Beta’s didn’t like to try and come between an Alpha and Omega anyway.

“Luckily for you there ain't too many alphas around here but you'll probably want to watch out once we get docked. There's gonna be more than just a few strange things lingerin' around there." McCoy pulled a face, cringing at the though. He really hated anything to do with aliens, space, pirates, flying, and space secrecy. Most people would probably wonder why he even joined Starfleet in the first place. He’d just tell them to stuff it.

Sulu nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I know. Guess I'll be safe enough on duty on the bridge with the Captain in the meantime. And it shouldn't be too long til we reach a planet, so you won't have to deal with me hanging around you for much longer." He’d already bothered the man enough with this situation. He couldn’t imagine it was exactly pleasant for McCoy to have an Omega underfoot all the time. Dale had been pretty descriptive about how his scent affected an Alpha.

McCoy scoffed at that. “Don’t want to rain on your parade or anything, Mister Sulu, but strict orders from the Captain says we’re gonna have to be _shopping_ buddies after we get down there.” He snorted, shaking his head. It was so absurd to think that a doctor would have to go “shopping” with Hikaru Sulu. Jim just really enjoyed messing with him. He was a doctor, not a personal shopper. He’d told Jim as much, and all he got was a laugh and a pat on the shoulder. Damn kid.

“Bet that was an interesting conversation.” Sulu commented, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Sorry you got the short straw.” He could tell just by looking that McCoy wasn’t thrilled over the prospect.

“It’s a medical concern; part of my job.”

“Still..” Sulu started, not feeling any better about it. He was interrupted by McCoy’s comm chirping, someone calling for the doctor.

“Right… on my way!” McCoy looked at Sulu. “Gotta go.” With that, he rushed off to wherever it was he was being summoned.

Sulu looked after him for a moment, waving a little sarcastically at the empty air and shaking his head once. The guy was impossible to figure out.

~~

The next few days were surprisingly uneventful.

Sulu had his normal shift on the bridge, the only difference was Captain Kirk giving him a short little grin and a nod. Otherwise, it was like nothing had changed.

Chekov, of course, was beside himself with the whole thing. Sulu was pretty sure he only had about half the facts, but he was livid all the same that any Starfleet officer would attack another. Hikaru would never admit it, but he found Pav’s outrage a little adorable. The seventeen-year-old genius was like a kitten who thought itself a tiger. Of course, Sulu knew quite well that Chekov was every bit as capable as any other officer, so perhaps that analogy wasn’t quite right.

Maybe he’d explain it to Pav later, seeing as most of the bridge crew knew by now anyway. None of them treated him differently, well except for Spock, but that was barely noticeable. Wouldn’t have been noticeable at all if he were looking so scrupulously for anything different in their behavior. It was just a vague sense, and Sulu pinned it on the more archaic mindset that the Vulcan race had concerning the hierarchy of society. As long as the first officer didn’t look down on him, or assume he was unfit for duty, he was content to let it go.

He was still the slightest bit jumpy walking the corridor on his own at first. Generally, he was able to silence that part of him, burying the nerves and just pushing through the day and getting the job done. It was, however, a relief when they finally arrived at the planet, docking in the space station in orbit.

Sulu was eager to get going and made his way to the transporter room early. He shifted, waiting with a bit of impatience for McCoy to show up. He stilled when McCoy walked in the room, pausing as he noticed the man seemed unenthused and agitated about something.

“Hey.” McCoy greeted him, frown fixed firmly on his face. “You up for this, then?”

Sulu decided it was best not to comment on the doctor’s apparent bad mood. “Yeah, more than.” And he was. He wanted to put this whole ordeal behind him. Get back to normal. Even if normal was a synthetic hormone that basically made him something different.

McCoy grunted, grabbing a phaser and placing in accordingly before checking to ensure that his medical kit was securely attached. “Well, I sure ain’t.” He commented, tone dry.

Sulu gave McCoy a sideways look as they stepped on to the transport pad. The doctor nodded at the technician and a moment later they were on the surface of the planet. “I’ll try not to browse for too long.” Sulu commented, trying for a joke as they began walking towards the shops.

For all that he tried to keep it light, Sulu made sure to keep close to McCoy. The place was pretty crowded, especially as they entered what was basically a megamall, and he had no desire to become separated from McCoy. It would be pretty easy for an Alpha to pick him out, even in this crowd. McCoy’s pretense would at the very least hopefully deter them from approaching or pointing it out. In all likelihood, anyone who knew he was Omega would know McCoy was Alpha, and probably assume that Sulu belonged to him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter has taken me way too long to edit and get up here. I blame it on the amount of time I spend either doing nothing or working on a story that I likely won't have the guts to put up here on AO3 at all.  
> Anyway, thanks for being patient!

The man zoomed in on his target, the high-tech binocular type device giving him a readout on Asian as he appeared in a plaza a great distance away. The image showed on a small screen of the apparatus, and the man sat back to pull out a communicator and click the button.

“Jazo here. Looks like the catch has landed.” He spoked in a whisper, even though he knew he was alone in this area.

Jazo leaned forward again, widening the field of the view screen to watch Sulu say something to the other officer before the two of them began walking toward the market. He smirked to himself, settling back to await further orders as the plan proceeded.

Rimm clicked the comm once to acknowledge he’d heard the message. He was positioned further in town, settled on a rooftop with his equipment. He opened up the larger of the cases he had with him, beginning to assemble the gun that was inside. Every so often he would glance down at the streets below, scanning through the people and faces for a moment, then continuing his work.   
Once the weapon was set up, he pulled a container full of neon green fluid from the second case. He loaded the chemical into the gun, shifting to look through the scope. He straightened up, looking down at the street as he caught sight of the targets. He shifted positions again, kneeling and looking back through the scope to keep a purposeful watch on the area outside of one of the many buildings.

~~

For all that Sulu knew McCoy was probably hating this whole thing, and that he himself should probably be at least a little wary, he couldn’t help the excitement at being out on a shopping trip. It wasn’t exactly shore leave, but it might as well have been. He usually got Chekov or Uhura to go with him to shop if either of them had shore leave that coincided with his.

Sulu had to admit, the city here was beautiful. It wasn’t exactly your normal Federation city, at least not this section anyway. He could see the larger silver buildings in the distance, but this here had more of a bazaar feel to it. Many vendors had stalls lining the street, selling all sorts of items.

Hikaru gave most of them little attention. The smaller ones were filled with tourist trinkets or sold food stuffs, and it was unlikely he’d find what he was looking for in the street vendors stalls. He paused for a moment to look at a few items on a shelf outside of a building, casting a glance up at the sign hanging over the front door. It looked at least somewhat promising.

As if knowing his thoughts, one of the vendors of the store slipped closer, slanted eyes glancing appraisingly over Sulu. The man was a bit shorter than Sulu, dressed in the rough cloth tunics the natives of this planet wore, his gray hair oily and slicked back.

McCoy eyed the man, staring at him intently with an almost warning glare on his face. He bit his tongue, keeping back any snappish warnings. He’d made a promise to Jim to try not to cause any unnecessary aggravation. This would likely not be the first, or the last, such looks Sulu would be getting while down here on the planet. He knew that the longer it took to find what they were looking for, the more chance an Alpha, or even an aberrant personage, would pick up on the scent. Generally, only Alpha’s or Omega’s could scent what designation a person had, but it wasn’t impossible that a Beta wouldn’t be able to do the same thing.

The second vendor of the shop noticed McCoy’s sharp gaze and glanced over at where his partner was looking over Sulu. He looked back at McCoy, moving forward to gain his attention. He did not know yet what had attracted his colleague’s attention, but it was clear he was interested in the pilot.

McCoy turned to the individual who approached him, schooling his expression into something neutral. He knew he needed to be nice, or at least polite. “What do you want?” He questioned with a frown. So much for nice and polite. He glanced over at Sulu, frown deepening as the man started speaking to Sulu. He wasn’t speaking very loudly, but McCoy guessed it was about the things on the shelves going by the gestures the vendor made.

Bones’ attention was drawn back to the man infront of him as he too waved a hand towards a shelf full of items. “Can I help you with anything, sir? We have lots of things that you would like.”

“No.” McCoy stated bluntly, eyes narrowing slightly as Sulu was slowly moving further away, the vendor by his side speaking nonstop and subtly nudging him along. “If I needed my own private salesman, I would have hired one.” He gave the other man one last glance before turning to walk over to Sulu.

Sulu looked over at McCoy as he approached, grateful for the interruption that stopped the flow of words from the vendor. He was already fairly certain that this shop didn’t have what they needed, and even if they did, he hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise to ask.

“How’s it goin’?” McCoy asked, though he could guess the answer just by the look on Sulu’s face.

Hikaru sighed lightly, shrugging. “Waste of time here.”

“No, no!” The vendor standing there objected, shaking his head as he reached out to talk hold of Sulu. “We have many things!” 

McCoy’s brows instantly furrowed and he stepped forward to stop the man from laying a hand on Sulu. “That’s enough. ‘m pretty sure we can handle this.”

Sulu stepped back, giving McCoy a side glance but not interrupting. He wasn’t sure where that had come from, or how to interpret it, but at least he didn’t have some random guy grabbing him.

The vendor frowned, stepping back from him. “I just wish to help you sirs.”

“He’s a grown man. Go pester someone else.” McCoy snapped back, tone raising slightly.

Sulu glanced between them. Honestly, he felt more than a little weird with the way they were both just talking over him. Weird and a bit annoyed. He glanced over at the other vendor as the man slid up behind them.

“Sir, you should be more calm. I will have to ask you to leave.” The second vendor warned, moving a step closer, putting himself between McCoy and Sulu.

McCoy pulled a face of ridicule and snorted. They wanted them to leave, that was fine with him. This guy here was the one that had been tryin to make them stay. “C’mon, let’s try somewhere else.” He told Sulu, still giving the two vendors a look that conveyed quite clearly his opinion on their intelligence.

Sulu frowned at the way McCoy didn’t so much as look at him, just walking out without even acknowledging him. With the way that all three of them had been talking over him, it felt way too Alpha possessive. He followed along after him though, because what else was he supposed to do. Stop and complain? “You certainly know how to charm the locals.” He quipped, tone full of sass.

“Prince Charming they once called me…” McCoy replied without really thinking, distracted by the mission. He didn’t make eye contact with anyone as he exited the shop, looking around at other ones as they continued walking.

“Yeah, right.” Sulu snorted, not speaking loud enough for McCoy really to hear. He could tell he didn’t have the man’s full attention anyway. He looked around as they walked, glancing briefly at the items on sale. It was frustrating how long this was taking. His intial enjoyment had faded with that little incident at the shop. He just wanted to get the stuff and go back to being normal, blending in with the Beta's. McCoy had, admittedly, been far more polite and less demanding than most Alpha's, but if nothing else that thing with the two shopkeepers proved that he was at least a _little_ like the typical Alpha. Hikaru was fine having some help getting rid of pushy salesmen, but not so fine with being talked about, and over, like he was less capable.

Sulu's thoughts kept him occupied as they walked, most of his attention focused internally though he did keep an eye on their surrounding. Eventually they made their way into a mall-like building, the smooth metal walls and large glass windows giving the place a more modern feel than the plaza. Hikaru cheered up a bit entering the building, this looked like a place they would find what they were looking for.

McCoy frowned to himself, thoughts circling through his head as to where they should try next. He wasn’t the best at this sort of thing. Sure, he knew what sort of things the spray would need to remain active past the inoculations he’d given Sulu, but as to where they might find that stuff… McCoy could admit he wasn’t the best at shopping under regular circumstances, let alone looking for something so rare and specific.

Sulu kept pretty close to McCoy as they made their way through the mall, though every so often he’d pause and look at a shop. None of it looked like anything they were looking for, but he couldn’t help it if some things caught his eye. He’d paused for a bit longer than the other times and by the time he looked up, McCoy was a few shops away peering through a small catalogue. Sulu almost wanted to roll his eyes with how absorbed the doctor was in the screen-like book at the shop.

He turned from the window he’d been looking in, heading toward McCoy when a man moved infront of him, blocking him from going further. The guy was a good foot taller than Sulu, an expression of bewildered disbelief on his face.

“Huh?!” He was gaping at Sulu, eyes wide and speaking too loudly with an odd accent. “An omega?!”


	9. Chapter 9

Sulu gave the man a worried look, trying to school his face into something believable as he shook his head slightly. “Uh, sorry, you must be mistaken.” He moved to go around the man, mindful of a couple other people that had stopped and turned to look at the man’s loud announcement.

“Dude, you’re the first one I’ve ever seen!” The man exclaimed, ignoring Sulu’s denial and turning to wave at his mother who stood a bit away. He beckoned her over, pointing at Sulu as she came closer. “Hey! Look! An omega!”

Sulu tensed, the guy was not helping him keep a low profile, and already there was more than one person that had become interested. He slipped past the mother and son, hurrying towards McCoy past a group of friends whose conversation had come to a halt at the commotion.

“Uh… we might have a tiny problem.” Hikaru stated, keeping an eye on the instigators.

McCoy turned around and looked at Sulu, raising a questioning brow. He looked over at the gathering crowd in time to see a guy point to Sulu, stating in a loud voice “that one.”

The man’s mother turned to look, taking in a startled breath upon seeing Sulu. “Oh my gosh! This could make the news!” She screeched excitedly, clasping her hands together. “LOOK, EVERYONE! THERE’S AN OMEGA IN HERE!”

Sulu grimaced at that, giving McCoy an apologetic look. “Yeah….”

McCoy looked at the female alien with gritted teeth. “… Dammit!” Of all the ways for this to… Damn. At least the woman’s screeching and shouting had the crowds attention on her for the moment. That wouldn’t last long though. He hurriedly looked at Sulu. “Let’s go.”

McCoy began moving, heading toward the exit. It wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do as the crowd grew larger. Most of the people seemed to think the commotion was some big joke, McCoy even heard a comment about a fight happening, but they were all focused on getting to the center and hardly cared to ask why people were going the other direction.

Sulu tried to keep close to McCoy, not an easy feat as the crowd thickened. He could hear the female’s voice barking out about ‘where had he gone’ and ‘someone find him.’ Really, they were supposed to be an advanced civilization, yet they all lost their minds at the sight of an Omega. McCoy led the way, huffing and puffing as he fought through the crowd, gaze forward as he cleared a path.

Hikaru ducked slightly as a man suddenly appeared at his side, attempting to take a picture. He was nearly tipped off balance as a second man grabbed him, pulling him to a stop. “Dude, are you really an Omega? That’s so cool!”

McCoy was stalled momentarily by a wall of people, looking for a way to shove some of them to the side, not having caught on that Sulu had been grabbed. He was about to glance back when he was suddenly roughly tugged by a stranger, stumbling to the side and looking up into the face of another Alpha.

“You think you’re that good, huh?!” The man snapped out, swinging a punch and ready to start a fight. The people surrounding them got louder, the excitement traveling through the crowd and threatening to turn it into a riot. McCoy’s head was spinning as he pulled away from the other alpha, reacting instantly to the attack. “Hell no am I gonna do this!” He growled out, the noise of the crowd washing his words away. He had no intention of having a fight with every alpha who laid eyes on Sulu in this crazy, alien ridden mall. Rather than participate in a brawl in the middle of the store, McCoy pulled out his phaser, stunning the other alpha.

Hikaru lost sight of McCoy quickly, the crowd pressing in on him, a couple people being so bold as to reach out and touch him. He felt a hand wrap around his wrist, tugging him through a gap between two large Beta’s. Sulu stumbled through, looking up to see one of the vendors from the shop, the one McCoy’s nearly gotten into a fight with. “Here, this way, I help you find your friend.”

Sulu hesitated for a moment, having a gut feeling that this wasn’t going to go well, but he had few options. If nothing else, this guy was opting to help him out of the crowd and, considering how many people were pawing at him right now, it was his best bet. Shaking of a couple hands trying to pull him back to the center of the mass, Sulu followed the vendor.

McCoy had to step back after he stunned the Alpha, one of the man’s friends coming forward with a weapon and an enraged look in his eye. Leonard stunned him as well before he could fully launch an attack. It was beginning to be apparent that the people in this place had a few more things on them than he had anticipated. The little commotion had all but dissolved into a full blown riot, and it didn’t look like the standard Starfleet phasers in some of their hands. Typical.

The doctor pulled out his comm, flipping it open quickly as he ducked away from a couple of combatants, trying to get immediate contact with the ship. “McCoy to Enterprise! McCoy to Enterprise! Pick up, DAMMIT!” He cast around looking for Sulu, going tense with wide eyes as he realized the Omega was nowhere in sight. “Son of a-“

McCoy abandon his attempts at contacting the Enterprise, putting the comm back on his belt and shoving his way through the crowd. Where the hell had that pilot got off to?

Sulu’s hesitation and wariness grew as the vendor led him through the crowd, the people thinning out until Sulu could see his surroundings clearly. Unfortunately, McCoy was nowhere in sight and it looked like they were headed toward a completely different door than the one he and the doctor had entered the mall through. “Hey, stop.” Sulu ordered, slowing down in an attempt to stop. “My friend is still back there.”

The vendor simply ignored him, pulling harshly and forcing Sulu to either keep moving or fall. Sulu frowned, but kept moving. It wouldn’t do him any good trying to take the guy on right here. He’d probably just attract more attention. He’d wait and make a move once they got out of the building.

Getting out of the building didn’t take long, and Sulu wasn’t about to delay long enough for this stranger to tow him to some ambush. He stopped abruptly, jerking his arm out of the man’s grip. “Look, this isn’t helping…” Hikaru froze from where he’d begun to step back, the vendor spinning around with a kind of phaser in one hand. Sulu lifted his hands with a grimace. He wasn’t completely surprised, just glad that there were no civilians around to get caught in the cross fire.

“You are to come with me, quiet.” The man ordered, waving Sulu forward with the weapon. He pushed the pilot along once Sulu had moved in front, ignoring the protesting grunt. He wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip from his hands. He circled them around the back of the mall, toward the residential areas.

Hikaru didn’t dare try and pull out his comm with the man behind him, likely watching his every move. He slowed some as they approached a shady looking building, a couple of locals standing near the door. This did not look good and the only thing Sulu could think was that he was about to be shoved into some backwater blackmarket type of shop.

The man behind him shoved him forward, the two others near the door escorting them inside. The interior was just a dirty and grungy looking as the outside and Sulu was quickly shoved to the side, one man standing watch while the two others spoke in their native language. Sulu shifted his body to hide his movement as he took his comm out. He frowned slightly, glancing down at it. It wasn’t working, not even coming online.

Sulu glanced at the trio, wondering if they were the reason. So far, they didn’t seem to be very organized, but if they were blocking his comm signal maybe they were more prepared and professional than he’d thought. He sincerely hoped not, because if they were that did not bode well for him. He jumped slightly, slipping the comm back into his pocket as the door burst open suddenly, a short man entering dressed similar to his captors.

“About time! What took so long?!” He snapped, striding over to the two arguing men.

The vendor frown at the accusation, crossing his arms and turning to face the newcomer. “There was a large crowd Mnag, it wasn’t easy to find this one in there.” He huffed, tossing his head to indicate Sulu.

Mnag shook his head, glancing toward the slightly open door. “Make sure he is not seen! Everyone out there is on the prowl! We could get a great sale is we work fast.”

Sulu tensed as two of them approached, taking hold of him and beginning to tie his hands. The Vendor sniffed in irritation as he wrapped the rope around Sulu’s wrists, glancing over at Mnag. “You have a buyer in mind yet? He’s too high profile to keep for long.”

Mnag paused, tapping one finger on his chin as he thought, eyes roving over Sulu in appraisal. “What can you do?” He snapped out the question in a demanding way.

Sulu raised an eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed with the man. He was no Alpha and Hikaru felt no compunction to be cooperative. “Lots of things.” He snipped, going for sass for lack of anything better to go with. He was rewarded with a harsh shove from the Vendor, forcing him to the ground. He shifted back away from a kicked aimed at him, leaning against the wall near the corner.

Mnag growled lightly at the response, turning his attention to the others as the Vendor moved away from the Omega. “We’ll make up a profile. The scumbag won’t talk so we’ll _create_ him.”

The Vendor’s eye’s lit up at that, mind racing with excitement. “Yes, yes. He can have many talents. We can sell him for _any_ price.” He moved over to a sort of cabinet in the room, opening the doors to pull out a sort of data PADD. He set to work furiously typing up a profile for Sulu. “See if you can line up some buyers, yes?” He requested, glancing up at Mnag. “We can have auction, like old days.”

Mnag smirked, glancing over at Sulu once more. “I’ve got some contacts coming through already.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day, I'll get around to going back and fixing all the little typos in the previous chapters, until then, thanks for sticking with the story.   
> I love comments. They make me so happy.


	10. Chapter 10

“I’ve got the target’s companion in sight. I’ll keep an eye on him, let you know if he picks up a direction for us.” Ronan spoke into the communicator lowly, eyes trained on the blue Starfleet uniform weaving through the crowd. The riot was starting to calm now that the Omega had vanished, though that didn’t particularly help him and his mission. He clicked the radio off, tucking it away and began making his way after the doctor.

Jazo growled to himself at the rendezvous site, leaning back as he considered what their next move should be. He tapped his finger for a second, staring toward the city, the clicked the comm to Rizt’s channel. “There’s been an outbreak in the mall. We have no idea of the Omega’s location, but keep an eye out. He may still come out your way.”

Rizt glanced at his radio, straightening from the scope he’d been looking through. “Fuck..” he muttered, frowning. He hated it when things when wrong and plans when to crap. Still, he was determined to do his duty. He leaned forward again, watching the doors through the scope.

He tensed in expectation as he caught sight of a bright blue, locking aim on the man before he realized it was not his target. A quick glance showed him the target was not there at all. He pulled away, contacting Jazo on the radio. “Looks like he may have been taken by someone else.” There was a slight pause, Rizt watching the Starfleet officer looking around in the bright sunlight.

Rizt huffed as a short command of “relocate” came over the radio and hurridly began packing up to move himself and his equipment to another spot. He activated an earpiece for the radio, heading down from his perch, tuned in for further orders.

“Good thing about Starfleet is that they’re easy to spot.” Jazo continued, still speaking to Rizt. “We’ll find him again in no time.”

Rizt nodded, jogged a few doors down before contacting Jazo again. “Any sign?”

“No. I think we’ve lost him for the time being. We’re going to have to take another approach. I’m sending Ronan in to see if we can work through his friend to find the little runt. He shouldn’t be too far away.”

~~

McCoy moved through the crowd for a few moments, glaring down any who looked like they wanted to start something with him. Eventually he made it to the other entrance to the megamall, looking around with his phaser still in hand. “Shit!” He cursed to himself, coming to a halt. It was like trying to find a damn needle in a haystack.

He closed his eyes briefly, trying to settle himself and focus, then turned and rushed back inside. If he couldn’t find Sulu by sight, maybe he could pick up his scent. Already, the crowd had quieted to the usual dull roar of a mall, though he could still see a few people still gushing over the rarity of an Omega.

McCoy scowled to himself, then set about trying to pick up on Sulu’s aroma. He’d have to rely on instinct instead of Starfleet since he couldn’t get in contact with the Enterprise. It was very concerning how the comms had gone out, and far too convenient for it to be simple coincidence.

It didn’t take McCoy too long to find the Omega scent and he began following it quickly. He hadn’t gotten far when he realized he was being followed. It was subtle, but he knew that the guy was tailing him. He stopped abruptly, spinning around rapidly and raising his phaser. “What are you following me for, _bud_?”

Ronan took a step back, beginning to turn to run once he’d been caught, but froze, thinking better of it. He lifted his hands, giving Bones a short smile, trying to act natural. “You look a little worried. I just wondered if I could help you?”

“Someone who’s wanting to help is sure quick to turn away and run once he’s been caught out.” McCoy snorted. Whatever this guy was selling, he wasn’t buying.

Ronan shrugged, feigning disinterest. “I get nervous, what can I say. So, you want help or what?”

“Mind your own damn business, why don’t you?” McCoy snapped back, looking to where he had previously been heading. The man’s distraction had made him lose the trail, and he was having trouble picking the scent back up which made him more on edge. He scowled, looking over at Ronan as the man scoffed, crossing his arms. He watched the man sort of shift away slightly, before rolling his eyes. He needed the help, though he wasn’t about to trust the guy. “Come on, then.”

McCoy returned to his search, not sure if the man had heard or would follow, but he was more worried about finding Sulu at this point. It might not have been that long since he’d lost him, but McCoy knew good and well just what kind of trouble could happen in the span of a few minutes.

Ronan smirked once the doctors back was to him, hurrying forward to follow. “So, what are we looking for?” He asked, still keeping up the pretense of being a helpful civilian.   
"I’m try’na find my friend. He’s kinda short, walks around with these puppy dog eyes like he’s all innocent or somethin’ but he’s trouble, so don’t let him fool you.” McCoy stated, rolling his eyes and continuing a little more seriously. “Typical Asian, black hair… brown eyes…”

“I see.” Ronan intoned, filing away the information. He already knew what Sulu looked like, of course, but the bit about his personality might be helpful.

Bones narrowed his eyes, picking up a faint wisp of the trail again, and began moving faster through the crowd. He didn’t care one bit if the ‘good Samaritan’ was left behind or not. After a moment, he finally picked up on a stronger scent, exhaling a sigh with a low muttered comment. “I’m comin’ Sulu.”

Ronan lagged behind a little, noticing that McCoy’s attention was focused away from him for the time being. He made sure to keep the doctor in sight, clicking on the radio in time to hear a bit of communication.

_‘He, boss, think I might have found a lead.’_

_’Send me the location, I’ll get Rizt over there.’_

Ronan chimed in then, updating them on his situation. “I got the other fleet leading me toward the target. Looks like he’s Alpha for sure, going old school to track em.” He didn’t have time to wait for the affirmative, having to put the radio away as McCoy broke into a run. He rushed after him, not bothering to be subtle about it. It seemed like McCoy’d forgotten all about him at this point anyway. He smirked at how predictable Alpha’s could be.

He followed McCoy out of the mall and down a side alley. Ronan held back when the doctor paused, but before long they were moving again. He send their direction and coordinates to Jazo, getting confirmation soon after and then coordinates of where Rizt would be waiting once he’d secured their target.

It was almost laughable how easy it was to spot where the Omega was being held. Ronan came to a stop as the house came into view, door swung slightly ajar. This neck of the woods just screamed shady dealings, and he was perfectly content to let the Federation doctor rush in there headlong. He’d give the Alpha a few moments, then come in after and pick up the package and deal with any other survivors.


	11. Chapter 11

McCoy was focused, determined not to lose the trail again. He paused halfway down an alley way, catching a sharper note of destress in the Omega scent. He knew full well that Sulu had a good head on him, and could take care of himself, but instinct still screamed at him to find him, now. A more rational part of his mind also knew it would be better to find Sulu sooner rather than later. Sulu hadn’t had to deal with him Omega instincts in a long time, he was bound to be more vulnerable with them now than even he might know.

That in mind he continued his pursuit, hurry the rest of the way down the alley and turning into a shoddy looking neighborhood. He growled low in his throat as he saw the house, the scent of Omega was strong enough that he knew that was where Sulu was being held. There was no telling what was going on in that house, so he didn’t hesitate in rushing over, shooting at the door on his way up the two steps and the kicking it open.

What remained of the door after the phaser fire shattered upon impact, the thin wood cracking and smashing as he entered the house.

The Vendor’s head jerked up in surprise, eyes going wide seeing McCoy come charging through what remained of the door.

Mnag jumped, straightening and whirling around from where he’d moved to crouch in front of Sulu.

McCoy stalked forward quickly, near seeing red at the way the other man was standing over the Omega. He lunged forward as he got closer, grabbing Mnag and flinging him across the room. At that, the room broke out into chaos. The Vendor dove to grab a phaser, whirling around and firing blindly at McCoy.

The doctor let out a wordless noise of irritation, ducking under the phaser fire and crawling forward to grab at the Vendor’s leg. He heard a curse coming from Sulu’s direction, then a muffled thump and a yell from an unfamiliar voice. Hopefully that took care of the third man in the room. The Vendor screeched when McCoy grabbed his leg, kicking and moving backwards. He only ended up tripping, all but sprawling out on his back as he fell.

McCoy scrambled forward, grabbing the phaser and getting up to his knees as he turned, stopping as he noticed Ronan entering the room. He frowned for a moment, the two of them locking gazes for a moment.

Ronan smirked at McCoy, ducking as the doctor scowled and fired the phaser. He darted forward, grabbing Mnag from where he was slowly picking himself up, then shoving the dazed man at McCoy. He didn’t bother to watch as Mnag fell atop the Starfleet officer, instead hurrying forward and dragging the uncooperative Omega to his feet.

Sulu struggled against Ronan’s hold, earning him a sharp cuff across the face and a harsh shake before being dragged toward the door. McCoy was pinned by Mnag and with his hands tied Sulu didn’t have much chance at fighting Ronan off. He gave it his best shot though, struggling against ever step Ronan pulled him forward.

Ronan cursed furiously. Weren’t Omega’s supposed to be _obedient_? He nearly lost his hold on Sulu outside of the doorway, though he managed to jump forward and grab him by the collar. He grabbed the pilots bound hands as well, yanking as he twist his body, throwing Sulu over the short little porch into the dirt.

Having the breath knocked out of him quieted the Omega down, at least for the time being. Ronan hopped down and dragged Sulu up once more, ignoring the way he gasped for breath, and forced him to start moving. He needed to get as far as he could before the little bitch started fighting again. Rizt had the drugs if he could get there before the other guy caught up.

Ronan clicked the radio on, tightening his hold on Sulu as they moved. “Jazo, you read me? I got em, need some help here.”

“We’re on it!” Jazo answered back quickly, already sending the coordinates to the others on the ground. Now that they had their quarry, they needed to move quickly. The Federation wouldn’t take too kindly to one of their own being stolen. The faster they could get off the planet and somewhere off the grid, the better.

Rizt was already one step ahead of them, setting up in position along the coordinates he’d been sent earlier. Ronan would have to come along this way to get to the rendezvous point in order to catch the transport off world. He set up his weapon, getting ready to stop anyone who tried to take Ronan down. “I’ve got them on the radar, Jazo.” He called it in.

“We don’t need any extra baggage, just the target. Take out any extras.”

~~

McCoy was all but flailing under Mnag, shoving at him. “GET OFF!” He screamed, finally getting the heavier, unconscious man off of himself. The Vendor didn’t notice their prize being stolen by Ronan, too focused on McCoy on the floor. The federation doctor was the one who had come charging in and had taken down Mnag, so it was him that the Vendor focused his anger on.

The Vendor kicked McCoy, stepping forward to repeat the action when McCoy grunted and fell back. Bones looked toward where Ronan and Sulu had vanished, blocking another kick with a curse. His own little plan with Ronan there had backfired, badly. He’d all but led the man to Sulu. Damn it, he _had_ led the man to Sulu. Him and his damn instincts. He twisted slight at the next kick, grabbing the Vendors leg and flipping him off balance.

McCoy got to his feet quickly, ignoring the three would be kidnappers and hurrying after Ronan and Sulu. The trail was easy enough to follow, and it didn’t take long for McCoy to catch up. He could see Sulu and Ronan ahead, the pilot fighting against the guy dragging him along.

Ronan paused as Jazo’s voice came over the radio. “How long until you get here?” He questioned impatiently. He was all set and waiting for Ronan and the Omega to arrive. They needed to move, now!

“Coming up on your position now.” Ronan huffed, catching sight of Rizt up on the hill.

“Hurry your ass!” Jazo snapped turning the radio off viciously, pacing next to the small cargo ship.

Ronan scowled, irritated that he was getting the brunt of Jazo’s impatience. He shot a glare at Sulu, tightening his grip and giving him a sharp jerk forward, causing him to nearly lose his balance. Damn Omega, needed to be properly trained. Ronan paused, eyes narrowing as he saw Rizt crouching down, lining up a shot through his scope. Eyes widening, he ducked, narrowly avoiding phaser fire coming from behind him.

Sulu was dragged to the ground right alongside Ronan, landing heavily on his side. Hikaru attempted to get away, rolling to the side before getting to his feet. If he could take advantage of McCoy’s distraction, get some distance… His plan failed before it even got started, Ronan lunging towards him and grabbing at his ankles.

In seconds, Sulu was flat on the ground once more, Ronan crawling forward and ontop of him, pinning him down. The phaser fire had stopped and Ronan glanced up toward Rizt. He froze, blinking in surprise as he was unable to locate the man. He turned to see where the Alpha was only to be met by the sight of McCoy lunging for him.

McCoy wasn’t sure if he’d gotten lucky and actually managed to shoot the other guy or not, but he didn’t dare fire towards Ronan when the man was practically on top of Sulu. Then the man was _literally_ on top of Sulu, but McCoy was close enough by that point to grab for Ronan, trying to drag him off of Sulu, with much difficulty.

Ronan slipped off of Sulu, twisting around to punch McCoy, grabbling with the doctor and trying to get the upper hand. Ronan was bigger, better trained at hand to hand combat, and McCoy did not have the advantage in this fight. McCoy struggled, trying to reach down into his own leg pocket while keeping Ronan’s hand from around his neck.

McCoy managed to grab the hypo from his pocket, going down on one knee as Ronan tripped him up, trying to pin him down. Ronan kept his eye on the hypo, guessing it was some sort of tranquilizer. Just where the hell was his backup?

Sulu got to his feet, trying to find an opening to help McCoy out. He knew he wasn’t going to be much used with his hands still tied, but he wasn’t about to sit here and be useless in yet _another_ fight over himself. Granted, this time there was a vastly different reason for the fight.

McCoy looked over, trying to throw the hypo over to the pilot, calling out. “Sulu!”

Ronan gaze followed the devices, dropping his grip on McCoy for the moment and lunging forward to grab at the hypo. He crashed into Sulu, who had done the same thing, and the two of them struggled briefly for the thing. The fight was quick and ended with Sulu on the ground, bleeding from a split lip. Ronan turned to knock McCoy out first but was met with the Alpha surging upward and attempting to grab it from his hand.

Ronan stepped back reflexively, cursing at the sudden attack. He felt hands grabbing at his wrist and jerked his elbow back, catching Sulu in the face and sending him back to the ground again. It was enough of a distraction for McCoy, however, as he grabbed the hypo from Ronan, flipping it open with a practiced ease and jabbing it into the other man’s neck.

The drug worked almost instantly, Ronan’s eyes rolling up as he collapsed onto the ground. McCoy stood still for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He looked over at Sulu as the kid shifted and sat up.

“You alright, kid?!” McCoy frowned, eyes evaluating the pilot.

Hikaru was positive he was going to have a black eye, or maybe two, but otherwise he was more or less fine. He nodded once as McCoy came over and untied him, helping him to his feel. “I’ll be fine.” He assured, though he knew McCoy would still want to check him out once they got back to the ship. “He has some friends nearby, that’s where he was headed. We shouldn’t stick around.”

McCoy grimaced, wiping a bit of blood from his own lip and looked toward where Ronan had been dragging Sulu. Of course the guy had help, just his luck. “I can’t get ahold of anyone up there!” He gruffed, rolling his eyes and checking his comm once more.

Sulu nodded in agreement, looking for his own comm. He frowned when he noticed it was missing, grimacing as he realized it must have gotten lost back there during the fighting. “Yeah, mine wasn’t working earlier when I tried either.”

McCoy grit his teeth, looking in the direction they’d come from before returning his gaze to Sulu, inspecting the man’s injuries more closely. He didn’t see any signs that they’d given the pilot any drugs, and though he had more than a few cuts and abrasions, there didn’t appear to be any serious injuries. “You need to take it easy, okay? I’ll give you a thorough examination later once we get outta this glorified pothole.”

Sulu sighed to himself. He’d called it, of course. He really hoped this was just McCoy being a good doctor and not some extension of that somewhat possessive attitude he’d displayed earlier in the marketplace. Either way, he knew his usually sassy answer would not be well received, and he didn’t want to risk pushing the Alpha’s patience. He’d already caught one glimpse of McCoy truly angry, and he would rather not have that directed at himself. So he just nodded in agreement and changed the subject. “If the comms aren’t working, it’s probably that guy’s group that are responsible. We can probably find some help, or some way to get in touch with the Enterprise, in the city.”

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I don't know what's going on, but I swear I don't actually ship McCoy/Sulu. Seriously, I have a problem.


End file.
